Gruvia Week 2015
by Feistyy
Summary: My submissions for Tumblr's Gruvia Week this year. Genres and ratings will vary, but there's nothing too racy.
1. Hair

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima

Title: Fluff

Prompt: Hair

Rating: G

Word Count: 513

Genre: Time-skip fluff

* * *

It was everywhere. And it was hard to ignore. He'd known that living with another person – living with Juvia – would take some getting used to. He'd known he'd have try harder to pick up after himself, but tolerate her messes too. He'd known he'd have to consider her sleeping schedule, her eating schedule, not keep the lights on at all hours of the night or snack while she was cooking their supper and ruin her appetite. He'd known that she'd need space for her own rituals, just like he needed space for his. He'd known that it was important for him to put up with her idiosyncrasies (like slipping into daydreams during training that her flushed faced revealed to be PG13 at best, but insisting that he leave every time she had to remove her clothes even though he was clearly not looking), in the same way that she tolerated his.

He had not known that Juvia sheds.

There were vibrant blue tumbleweeds on the floor, puffs of indigo cloud on the counters, sapphire snakes in their shower, and sometimes even cerulean strands in their food.

He watched her as she sat on the edge of the bed in slippers, a house coat, and a blue silk pajama set (progress, as she'd only recently started being comfortable in bed-time clothing when he was in the same room and she was not also under blankets or shrouded in darkness). She dragged the boar-bristle brush through her hair, combed through with fingers pale, smooth, and elegant as ivory. She let out a gently hum-sigh, eyes drifting closed. And then she encountered a knot. Her brow furrowed, her lips pursed, and she grabbed the offending chunk into a tight fist, separating it from the rest and attacking it mercilessly. When she was satisfied that she had beaten it into submission, she gave her locks a final once over and pulled those that had fallen from their follicles out of the brush's bristles.

And now came the moment of truth.

It wasn't her fault, really. She always tried. He saw her aim for the garbage bin. He saw her drop the clump of hair from her fingers to the mercy of the air. And then he saw the silken tangle drift down, bounce off the rim, and settle on the floor, there to stay until the next time it was swept.

"Juvia!" It may have come out a bit harsher than he'd expected, but enough was enough already.

"Yes, Gray-sama?"

"You missed. Again."

"I… oh! Juvia is sorry, Gray-sama." She returned to the bin and bent down to pick up the wayward wisps and try again, but Gray beat her there, stopping her reach by encircling her delicate wrist with one hand while the other snatched the clump and placed it in its rightful home.

"Geez," he sighed, releasing her wrist and turning away. "If you have so much trouble, maybe I should start brushing your hair for you."

Her eyes were still glazed over when he turned out the light and crawled into bed.


	2. Quiet

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima

Title: Wheedling

Prompt: Quiet

Rating: T for vague suggestions of male anatomy

Word Count: 653

Genre: Time-skip humourish

A/N: This happens pretty early on in their cohabitation. Can be read as pure fluff, but I tried to show in their conversation that there was a misunderstanding about what Gray means by "here." He's noticed how happy Juvia is and attributes it to being in the village without realising how important it is that he's there with here. This leads to him deciding to cut her out of the search for END.

* * *

Gray-sama is quiet tonight. Which isn't to say that usually he is loud because usually he is not, unless Natsu-san has provoked him. But he has not said a word to Juvia since she came home from market. And Juvia is certain that her dinner at least was worth a compliment. She had made Gray-sama's favourite. Gray-sama is always surprised by how good it is because he does not pay enough attention to meals to notice that Juvia has made it before. He thinks each of the times Juvia has served it, it has been something else that he also happens to like very much. Juvia will not correct him. It would only embarrass Gray-sama and make him realise that Juvia is not the domestic goddess he surely thinks she is. Juvia has tried hard to make him think so. Juvia always does the cooking and the cleaning and even offers to rub Gray-sama's back and feet after a hard day of training. He has not yet accepted, but Juvia is sure that next time he will. And then maybe he will offer to rub Juvia's back and feet in return! And then… No. Juvia will not allow herself to daydream at this crucial moment. Something is bothering Gray-sama and she must find out what.

Already time for bed and nothing has worked! Juvia asked while doing the dishes, "Did anything happen while Juvia was out?" Juvia asked while resetting the table, "Did Gray-sama not like dinner?" Juvia asked while brushing her hair, "How was Gray-sama's day?" And all Juvia got in return was "No," "It was fine," and a shrug. But Juvia cannot despair. It is simply time to pull out the big guns. Juvia knows she needs to be sneaky. Gray-sama mustn't notice her until it is too late. Gray-sama has turned off the light, pulled back the covers and… GO! Quickly, under covers, leg hitched on hip, arm across chest, oh so warm and comfortable, Juvia simply must nuzzle her face into Gray-sama's muscles! Such a rare opportunity! Ah, Juvia is so bold! A moment of bliss! Juvia can hear Gray-sama's heart, Gray-sama's breath, Gray-sama's voice echoing against her ear!

"J-Juvia! What do you think you're doing!?"

Ah ha! As planned, Gray-sama is shocked stiff! Best course of action is to squirm in even… what is this Juvia feels against her thigh?! Oh! Juvia did not prepare for this! Stupid Juvia, of course Gray-sama could not keep his pajama bottoms on! This is! Juvia must focus! Juvia has a mission! Gray-sama is so comfortable even when he is so tense! Ah, he has begun to recover and is trying to remove Juvia.

"Gray-sama, Juvia knows something is wrong and she is not leaving until you tell her." Gray-sama cannot remove Juvia if she holds on tight.

"Juvia. I'm fine, now get out!" Juvia sees now that there is only one way to make Gray-sama let her help him.

"Gray-sama, Juvia promised. Juvia made a promise to Father that she would take care of you. Juvia cannot take care of you if you do not speak to her."

Gray-sama's breath tickles across Juvia's arm. "I was just thinking…"

Gray-sama's voice, so deep and so close to Juvia! "Do you like it here?"

"Juvia loves it here! She would like never to leave this place. Juvia wants to stay here forever." Forever with Gray-sama!

"That's all I needed to know." Gray-sama is smiling! So dashing! "I'll make sure you never have to leave. Go on back to your bed now."

"O-okay, Gray-sama," and the floor is so cold on Juvia's feet after being pressed against Gray-sama!

Gray-sama still did not seem fine… his smile did not light up as much as usual.

But Juvia can talk to him more tomorrow!

Tomorrow!

There will always be another tomorrow here. In Juvia's home with Gray-sama. Gray-sama has said he will make sure of it.


	3. Quiet, Take 2

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima

Title: Left

Prompt: Quiet

Rating: G

Word Count: 122

Genre: Angst-poetry? (Time-skip again)

A/N: I did two submissions for this prompt. I got bit by a bug halfway through my planned submission and couldn't not.

* * *

There were no more children playing in the streets. No laughter, no scraped knees ignored.

There were no more mothers going to market. No haggling, no hot gossip spilled.

There were no more dogs weaving between feet. No barking, no tails wagged.

There were no more fathers leaning on fence-posts. No grunts of agreement, no home-lives bemoaned.

There were no more chickens in the coops. No clucking, no fresh eggs fried.

There were no more grandparents sitting on porches. No parchment-voiced compliments, no life lessons imparted.

There was no more Gray-sama sharing her home. No whispered goodnights, no quirks discovered.

Everyone had left her, taking the noise of life with them.

And once again, all Juvia had left was

drip  
drip

drop.


	4. Bloom

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima

Title: Gardening

Prompt: Bloom

Rating: M-ish

Word Count: 262

Genre: Poetic smut

A/N: First attempt at word-porn, so not so graphic.

* * *

They call it "deflowering" but Gray knows betternow. He hadn't uprooted a beautiful, fragile part of Juvia. He had planted a seed, tended it carefully. Watched it blossom.

It started with a touch. Unintentional. An accidental shock. Hands brushing hands. Glance brushing glance. Lips brushing lips.

There was a closeness that couldn't be filled, a silence that burst eardrums. There could never be enough of Juvia. Juvia's hands and Juvia's fingers. Juvia's legs and Juvia's hips. Juvia's lips and Juvia's tongue. Juvia's eyes and her fluttering eyelashes. Her hair everywhere. The taut sinews and soft curves and the way they flowed out of his hands. The mews and gasps and the touches and tweaks that induced them. The heat of her skin and the home of her heart.

The togetherness happened naturally. With pulsing and slipping and how had they come so far and where had his clothes gone and how could he get rid of hers. With rocking and pulsing and clinging and need. With tears and restraint and giving in to her. Letting her set the pace, letting her take control.

And always, Juvia's eyes, Juvia's body, Juvia's voice in his ear.

Finally, he saw it. The flush spread across her nose, down her throat.

It takes two things for flowers to flourish. Water and sunlight. Water was an integral part of Juvia herself. She had just been waiting for Gray to give her the Sun. And Juvia's water and sunlight finally intertwined, the seed of their love gave birth to the most beautiful flower Gray had ever seen.


	5. Demons

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima

Title: Demon Slaying is Easy – The Hard Work is the Wrangling

Prompt: Demons

Rating: G

Word Count: 459

Genre: Future-fic, family humour

* * *

At times like this, Gray couldn't remember why he'd agreed to it. Then he remembered that he hadn't. It had just kind of happened.

Three screaming children.

They'd been awake for approximately 27 minutes and already they were covered in food, the floor was covered in toys, and Gray was covered in sweat from chasing after them. As soon as he got two gathered in one spot for their daily magic lesson, the third would disappear in a flash. And they thought it was the funnest game ever invented. Meanwhile, the two Gray had managed to group together would start poking and prodding each other and the oldest of the pair would cry "Daddy, she's touching meeee!" Just six years ago, Gray had thought some frequencies could only be obtained by tea kettles and murdered birds.

Gray had always wanted to take on disciples and be to some kid what Ul had been to him. Making his own hadn't occurred to him until there was already one on the way. But he'd always assumed a disciple would respect his master and listen! He had always listened to Ul, hadn't he? Usually… when it mattered… when it was convenient… alright, so he may have romanticised the idea a bit, but he was sure he'd been better behaved than these brats!

He wouldn't complain or make excuses. He wouldn't say he could do it if Juvia were home. Ul had done it alone. He could too.

It was just easier with Juvia. After all, he only had two hands and there were three of them. He was good with kids! He knew the tricks. He knew that if you got down on their level and treated them with respect, they would respect you in return. But in order to make eye-contact with one, Gray had to turn his back on at least one other. And that was just asking for trouble. Once he had them gathered and started teaching, they always calmed down. Fine, sometimes they just wore themselves out and fell asleep to the sound of his voice, but they really did look forward to his demonstrations. They just somehow managed to forget that they did. Every single morning.

With a grand exhale, Gray sunk to the floor. Three tiny heads, including four tiny pigtails, immediately zeroed in on their new target.

And then Juvia breezed through the door, loaded down with ingredients for a pancake breakfast, and trilling "Gray-sama! Babies! Mama is home!" and suddenly all was right in their little worlds. The tears dried, smiles lit up, they lined themselves up in an adorable row of anticipation. Juvia would sweep in, kiss all the booboos better and never know that they had been anything other than perfect little angels.


	6. Dancing

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima

Title: Snowball

Prompt: Dancing

Rating: T for potty-mouth, mild violence, and threats of a sexual nature

Word Count: 1,659

Genre: High school AU

A/N: My first AU, so of course I pick the most cliched one out there. **Please note** I do not at all intend to bash Laxus. I've set this story in a time roughly analogous to the Battle of Fairy Tail arc (though I couldn't resist throwing in some post-Nirvana Jellal) and Laxus _was_ kind of a dick at that point.

* * *

"Hey, Gray, the new girl's staring at you again!"

"How do you know she's not staring at you?"

"Oh! That's a good point! I mean, I am far more attractive than you, smarter, friendlier…" Cana's craned her neck to get a better look at the girl with skin as pale as cream, and hair as blue as a sage flower, evaluating her in a new light.

"No, she's staring at Gray." They both snapped their attention to Erza. She seemed absolutely certain. "I sit behind her in Chem. I can see her notes and the only reaction she's been writing down is "Gray + Juvia – Love. The first day of class, she asked every one of us if we knew you, and…"

This made Gray slightly uncomfortable. He knew the reason she'd transferred was because she'd fallen in with a bad crowd at her old school. And the reason he knew this was because he'd been the target of her "initiation." Her so-called friends had sent her off into the park in the middle of the night to pick a fight with the first person she met wearing a Letterman's jacket from FTHS. The night had been balmy for late fall and if she'd walked past a second later, he likely wouldn't have been wearing his, but he had been. Gray wasn't one to discriminate, so he took her challenge seriously– everyone deserves the courtesy of being taken seriously– and she was pretty good. Really good. It was obviously painfully important to her that she fit in with whoever she was doing this for. Both of them turned up to class the next day with their fair share of bruises. But Gray hadn't been paying enough attention to his surroundings and ended up throwing her out into the lake. He had jumped in after her, the dip had cooled her off, besides which she had been overawed by what she called his chivalry, and they ended up sitting on a bench and talking until dawn.  
So while he was aware of the creep-factor, he wasn't taking it too seriously. Then he noticed that Erza was still talking.

"If you'd like, I could introduce you."

"Isn't that Jellal in the corner over there? Boy, he sure looks lonely. And hey! Only two pieces of strawberry shortcake left on the dessert table! Maybe I should go grab one." In a crimson flash, Erza was sitting in a dark corner of the gym with two pieces of cake and a brooding boy who was wearing way too much black.

"I still don't get why she likes him so much." Cana shook her head. "He's so depressing. And he wears more eyeliner than I do."

"It's because she's Erza." Gray shrugged.

"Well, I'm blowing this popsicle stand. There isn't even any punch to spike, just cans of pop." This was because Cana had spiked the punch at the last three school dances.

"Need an escort?"

"I'm a big girl, Gray, I can handle walking home at eight at night all on my lonesome. The sun's not even down yet. Have fun. Maybe, you know, actually dance for once? It looks like there's finally someone at this school lame enough to be your partner." And with a wink she was heading towards the doors.

But that reminded him of the new girl and he looked over his shoulder to see if she was still looking at him.

No sooner had he done so than the principal approached. It was as if he'd been waiting for Gray to look in her direction. Gray was sure he had been.

"Mr. Fullbuster, I see you've noticed our new student. Now, I want her to be made welcome. We don't want her to have a repeat of what happened at her last school, now do we? Why don't you go introduce yourself and show her around. Have her meet some nice people. Nice people, Mr. Fullbuster. Go on, now."

So he went on. Not like he had anything better to do.

Gray sidled up beside Juvia, avoiding her eyes as he spoke. "Yo, Juvia. How was your first week?"

"Good evening, Gray-sama!" He could _hear_ her eyes lighting up. "It has been wonderful! Everyone here is so much nicer than…" Juvia trailed off and Gray figured she didn't want to think about her old life.

"So, you're fitting in alright? Anyone you've been wanting to meet?" Orders were orders, after all.

"Who's that over by the door?"

Gray was honestly more than a little shocked by her taste in men. "Laxus Dreyer, the quarterback. Weird, usually he doesn't come to these things. He's the principal's…"

"And… and the girl with him? I thought I saw her speaking with Gray-sama…"

Laxus had waylaid Cana on her way out and, as Gray watched, was backing her against the wall and boxing her in with a meaty hand on either side of her head. Gray instantly mobilized.

"…misheard. I invited you into my backseat. This is an honour that a drunken slut like you should be flattered to receive, and I know you want it, you fuckin' cocktease. So I'm gonna ask you again. And either your answer changes or I slap some sense into you."

Cana was gamely trying to keep her smirk plastered to her face, but you could see the "Do not want" rolling off her like sweat. Understandable, as the air surrounding Laxus was crackling with threat. Her knee was clearly itching to connect with his balls, but she was outnumbered. Two cheerleaders and the running-back stood off to the side, arms crossed but ready to block her if she tried to escape.

Gray was finally close enough to make a grab for Laxus. But Juvia was faster. Gray hadn't noticed that she'd followed him but as the big blond raised his right arm in preparation for a backhand, Juvia snaked hers under and pulled Cana out, getting clipped by Laxus' follow through in the process. The smack echoed over the music, making Gray wonder just what kind of damage it would have done if it had landed with full force. Immediately, the attention of the entire gym was on their little corner by the door and if there's one thing you could say for sure about this school, it's that the general student body does not cotton to bullying. Faced with an encroaching mass of glares, Laxus and his entourage had no choice but to flee into the night.

Juvia and Cana had somehow ended up hugging and while that was sweet and admittedly kind of hot, Gray could see that Juvia's cheek was starting to swell, shiny and red, where Laxus had struck her. Gray extricated her from Cana's embrace and led her off by the hand, pointedly ignoring Cana as her face shifted from shock to a sly smile.

"Let's get some ice on that."

He led her back to the refreshments. What was usually the punch bowl was filled with canned sodas on ice and Gray stripped off his shirt, filled it, and handed it over to Juvia. The girl looked like she couldn't believe her good fortune.

"But won't Gray-sama get in trouble for not wearing a shirt?" There was a layer of concern somewhere amidst the joy, confusion, and daydreams that filled her eyes.

"Nah," he shrugged with an air of only slightly affected nonchalance, "I usually change in the halls on the way to and from football practice anyway. Most of the teachers have given up on seeing me fully clothed for an entire day."

Meanwhile, the DJ was floundering. He'd noticed that he'd entirely lost his audience, most of whom were now engaged in loudly whispered gossip about Laxus, Cana, and the new girl. He had one more trick up his sleeve and if that didn't work, he might just call it a night.

"Alright, folks, now we're gonna slow it down… for a Snowball." He fiddled with the spotlight before letting it land on what he figured was a likely pair: Gray and Juvia.

"I don't dance!" Gray tried to yell, but Juvia was already pulling him to the centre of the circle slowly being formed by their classmates.

She latched her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest, keeping the make-shift ice-pack in place between them. It was kind of chilly against his bare skin, but Gray didn't mind. He'd always liked the cold and with all the dancing, the gym was starting to get awfully stuffy.

Before he heard her voice, he felt Juvia's breath tickling across his pectorals. "Don't make such a fuss, Gray-sama. We have been chosen and it would be rude of us not to participate."

Gray was frankly shocked by the sudden physical intimacy. He had just met this girl! She hadn't seemed like the touchy-feely type! He didn't know what to do with his hands!

Juvia seemed to realize this. "Your hands go on Juvia's waist, Gray-sama. And just sway back and forth. It isn't really dancing at all."

Gray began to relax. She felt quite nice here in his arms. And if he closed his eyes, he could ignore the fact that everybody in the school was looking at him. He felt his face flush and the blood rushed through his ears.

The DJ mustered the sultriest voice he could. "Snowball."

That was the cue to release Juvia and find another partner from the spectators. The pattern would repeat until, theoretically, everyone was dancing. He half expected Juvia to cling to him even tighter, but apparently she was a stickler for rules. With a whispered "Thank you, Gray-sama," she went to ask someone else to dance. She chose the only person who she'd convinced to transfer to FTHS with her: A hulking and frankly scary looking guy who was so taciturn that Gray hadn't even learned his name yet. He couldn't help but notice that Juvia wasn't clinging nearly as tightly to this guy as she had to him, placing one hand on his shoulder and using the other to ice her cheek. They were also doing a bit more moving than just swaying back and forth, executing a simple box-step with an easy familiarity. He hadn't needed to hear Juvia's voice calling over the music that "Gajeel-kun is just a friend!" to figure it out. And he didn't particularly care. The sudden feeling of okay-ness in his gut was just from finally figuring out what the guy was called.

Gray had been planning to sneak to the back of the gym again, but decided it would be too glaringly obvious when Juvia and her partner were the only ones left dancing. Next round, he would. But for now, he settled on Lucy. She was new this year, pretty cute, and liked hanging around with Natsu, who Gray guessed might be his closest guy friend but not really because he was an irritating little shit who wouldn't just admit that Gray was the better athlete already. Unlike Juvia, Lucy didn't bury herself in his chest. In fact she seemed to have difficulty even looking at him and seemed more comfortable dancing with a fair bit of distance between them. That's when Gray remembered that he was still half-naked.

As their dance path drifted towards Juvia and her partner, Lucy remarked that she felt a chill run up her back and Gray could've sworn he heard a whispered hiss.

"Love Rival."


	7. Light

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima

Title: All I Need's a Little Relief

Prompt: Light

Rating: T, just for the last line.

Word Count: 671

Genre: Is elaborated headcanon a genre?

* * *

It is a fact that, when placed in a stressful situation, human beings are apt to succumb to vice. Gray's poison of choice was nicotine.

Since the old man had suggested it, and Gray had no objections, he was taking Juvia on her first mission as an official member of Fairy Tail, showing her the ropes.

And it was not going well.

Their task was to retrieve a kidnapped puppy from a series of pet shops that had been dabbling in some pretty illegal magical modifications, all linking back to the same conglomerate. The problem was that it was a pretty special pooch, perfect for their experimentations, so whenever Gray and Juvia arrived at one store, the dog had been shipped to another and they had to coerce the employees into telling them which. After the third time this happened, Juvia suggested nipping the problem in the bud, leaving Gray with the sneaking suspicion that that had been her plan all along and she had only been deferring to him because of his seniority in the guild. They were now on board a train bound for the company's head office.

But all things considered, the mission was a simple one for mages of their calibre. If anything, he thought it was a waste of their time. He was, however, learning a lot about his new nakama. She had some rough edges, habits picked up from her time with Phantom Lord that gave her combat style a more vindictive bent than Gray was entirely comfortable with, but she was extremely eager to please him and open to suggestions on how to better fulfill the expectated image of a Fairy Tail mage. So, the problem wasn't the mission, or even Juvia. Well, it wasn't _exactly_ Juvia.

It was the staring. Not the staring itself; Gray was used to girls ogling him. He was, after all, kind of famous. But he had never seen eyes like Juvia's before and they bothered him. He could see Future dancing around in those bottomless depths and Gray was still getting used to living in the Present. Just thinking about it made his fingers itch and before he was fully conscious of it, he'd drawn a cigarette from the pack in his bag. He patted around for his lighter for a second before realizing that the shirt he'd put it in this morning was probably laying on the ground at the station they'd departed a good hour ago.

"Hey Juvia," he asked, voice full of vexation over yet another lost lghter, "You got a light?"

"A… sorry, Gray-sama?" She sounded more confused than she should have, but Gray figured she'd been pretty zoned out. He repeated himself, trying not to sound irritated with her. Because he wasn't. Not really. He just really needed a smoke and yeah, it was kind of her fault. But not really.

"A light. I need a smoke."

"Oh. Um. Juvia does not carry such things," the girl muttered, turning her gaze to the magazine she'd only been pretending to read until now.

Why did she have to look so damn uncomfortable? Gray's best guess was that it was because, until recently, any fire-starter in her vicinity would be rendered immediately useless. With this in mind, he kind of felt bad for asking in the first place. But only kind of because thinking about how she held him responsible for stopping her rain made him want a smoke even more. Luckily, another passenger happened to pass through their car a few minutes later and he was happy to obliged. But no sooner was the flame lit than Juvia was out of her seat.

"Juvia is suddenly hungry. She will go to the dining car." She was gone before Gray could mention that he was starting to feel a bit peckish as well.

His cigarette was not as relaxing as usual. The flavour was less bold and the smoke stopped shy of filling him. He put it out after his fourth drag and waited, a little impatiently, for Juvia to return, slightly and irrationally blaming her for the pleasure denied him.

When she did, she'd brought him one of each kind of sandwich, just in case he was hungry.

This banked his irritation a bit, but he could still tell something was up and he wasn't going to let Juvia get away with it. He decided to be subtle.

"Did you notice anything suspicious about that guy who gave me a light?" he queried, keeping a blank face.

Juvia pondered for a minute. "No, Juvia cannot think of anything. Why does Gray-sama ask?"

"Well, you kind of bolted is all." He started to regret bringing it up when he noticed that Juvia was looking uncomfortable again, this time with a healthy share of embarrassed thrown in for good measure. Usually when girl's were embarrassed, it was something Gray wanted no part in. "Look, it's no big deal, if it's some sort of girl thing or something, forget I…"

"It was the smoke…" she blurted, "it… Juvia supposes it is a pollutant. It congests Juvia, like a cold but everywhere. Because of Juvia's water body."

Gray hadn't thought of that. It was a pretty unique skill and he hadn't realised there were drawbacks to it. "Well if it screws you up so bad, you should've just said so. I've been trying to cut back anyway."

Gray found himself engulfed in blue hair and cream skin, his throat slightly constricted by her covered yet ample bosom. He was sure she was maintaining a solid form, but it somehow felt like she was melting anyway.

Gray decided he would have to find another form of stress relief. And quick. Something to keep his hands occupied. Like knitting. Or chronic masturbation.


	8. Sweet

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima

Title: Interlude

Prompt: Sweet

Rating: G

Word Count: 1,409

A/N: I took a bit of a leap from the prompt this time and took the setting from the song "Ballroom Blitz" by Sweet. See if you can catch all the allusions!

* * *

Gray hadn't been sleeping well. Every night for nearly a month, he'd had the weirdest dreams. And they all had to do with Juvia. Going fishing with Juvia, running through fields with Juvia, Juvia wearing a white dress, Juvia a lot fatter than usual, Juvia baking, Juvia, Juvia, Juvia. And then some nights, it was Juvia in a pool of blood, Juvia screaming in pain. He was starting to wonder if the girl was completely blameless in this. After all, every morning, her reaction to seeing him was the opposite of two extremes. She either completely avoided his gaze for the first hour or so in his presence, or was even clingier than usual. She was running hot and cold and he didn't know what to make of it. Each morning was more and more uncomfortable as he grew more and more confused. He was used to knowing what to expect from Juvia and between his nightly visions and her odd behaviour, he was at a complete loss. Gray didn't like it and on the brink of confronting her about it.

It was a typical Saturday evening at the guild. Mirajane was performing and Gajeel was not happy about it. He was pouting at a table in the back and Levy and Pantherlily both seemed to be doing their level best to comfort him. It wasn't working. Mira was in the middle of a soothing ballad when he jumped to his feet and yelled "Oi, Mira! Let someone else have a turn already!" The aforementioned Mira went right on playing, thoroughly used to catcalls in general at this particular venue, and especially catcalls from Gajeel.

Evergreen was not so passive. From the Raijinshuu's table in the corner came a resounding "No one wants to hear fro you, so sit down and shut up, Redfox. Or are you looking to start a fight you won't be able to finish?"

Apparently, he was.

The two were soon embroiled in a heated battle, hurling insults and furniture across the hall. Laxus pointedly ignored the debris flying just over his head, keeping his eyes trained to the stage and wearing a glare that clearly said "I came to have a relaxing evening and I'll be damned if I let these idiots ruin it for me." But a man only has so much patience. When Gray noticed the air surrounding Laxus was crackling, he realised that nothing good was in the works for tonight. Usually he'd be up for a fight himself, but tonight he had other things on his mind and, odd as it was, he found he didn't welcome the distraction. He found Juvia sitting a little too near to the mini electrical storm for comfort. Her body was a conduit for Laxus' magic and Gray would rather she not get caught in the cross-hairs. She was close enough to Gajeel that she might jump in to defend him. And he didn't want that. After all, there were some things he needed to say to her.

He walked over to stand behind her and reached out to grab her shoulder. He caught himself in time to decide against it. That would be encouraging her and he could not get involved like she wanted. With anyone. So instead, he leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Juvia, we need to talk. Meet me in the broom closet." He immediately headed for their rendezvous point without bothering to make sure she was following. He knew she would.

He hadn't known she would arrive at the closet fully liquefied. Apparently, he had given her "ideas." If he'd bothered to check over his shoulder, he would have noticed her slow transformation from normal girl, to jelly-legs, to dripping in what could have been sweat, to Frosty the Snowman after the sun had come out.

Gray rubbed his temples. This might be even harder than he'd thought. "Juvia, I can't talk to you like that. I don't know where your face is. Pull yourself together."

A head of blue hair slowly emerged from the puddle, followed by big blue eyes. Then came a flawlessly straight nose and two lips that were saying, "Sorry, Gray-sama. Juvia got a little lost in her thoughts." Now fully reconstituted, Juvia stood with her hands clasped in front of her, leaning ever so slightly forward. "If Juvia may ask… why has Gray-sama invited her here?"

Time to nip any expectations in the bud and fast. "To talk. That's it. I just want to talk." He expected her face to fall, but instead it lit up.

"Talking alone with Gray-sama? Juvia would like that very much!"

Gray reached back to rub the back of his neck. "Uh… yeah. You see, I've been having some… some pretty weird dreams…"

"Dreams? What kind of dreams? Are they…" Juvia gasped "_erotic_ dreams?!"

She brought her hands up to her face and her eyes began to glaze over. Gray knew he had to act fast.

"No! No, not at all. I'm only mentioning it because you've sort of been in them." His brain couldn't keep up to his tongue.

"Erotic dreams about Juvia?!" She squeaked. Gray had not acted fast enough and she was lost to her daydreams.

Gray played a quick game of Solitaire with some ice-cards while her waited for her fantasy to play out.

He only rewarded her with his attention when she was primly sitting on an upturned bucket, hands folded in her lap.

Clearing his throat, he tried again. Speaking slowly so there could be no miscommunication. "They were not _those_ kind of dreams. I was just wondering, since it started the night we got back from the last mission we did together… you didn't… you know… slip something into my drink…?"

Gray couldn't tell if she was offended or just hurt. "Juvia would never! She has not even thought of doing that for many, many, months now! And for Gray-sama's information, Juvia has been having dreams about him, too. Different ones than usual."

That put the situation in a different light. If Juvia had been affected too, it increased the chances that this was some sort of aftermath of their previous job. Other than the dreams, Gray was feeling fine. And Juvia looked like her normal self, if maybe a touch more drippy than usual. It was more serious than he'd thought though and now that he knew someone else was at risk, something had to be done.

"Some of those dreams are things I never want to see happen. Same for you?" Juvia nodded, eyes wide. "I have no idea what the extent of this is. If it was just me I wouldn't be so worried but this is really weird. You could've told me, you know, if you thought the dreams weren't normal. I mean, you're my nakama and some of those dreams… we shouldn't take any chances and I just…" He had to phrase this carefully.

The noise outside grew steadily louder. Nobody was allowing space to breathe, it was all taunts and attacks. Gray heard the music stop. Apparently Mira had given up on recaptivating her audience and slunk off stage. Oddly enough, instead of lowering the noise level, it only served to increase it as a chant rose up from Wakaba and Macao's table calling for her return.

Gray decided to go for it. Odds were, she'd mishear anyway and he could just breeze over it and continue with his suggestion for finding a solution.

"I don't want to lose you."

But just as he finished his thought, everything went quiet, leaving his words hanging completely naked in the air between them.

To his surprise, Juvia just blinked. "Of course Gray-sama does not want to lose Juvia. Even if he only sees her as nakama… for now!… Juvia knows that Gray-sama cares very much for his nakama. It is why Juvia loves him. It is why Juvia joined Fairy Tail."

"Oh." Gray felt that he'd underestimated Juvia in some way. "Well, as long as we understand each other…"

"Not that Juvia doesn't hope this means Gray-sama is more likely to love her soon!" She launched herself onto him, letting him struggle for twenty full seconds before letting go.

In a voice strangled by Juvia's affections, Gray said, "How about we head over to Porlyusica's tomorrow and see if she can't figure out what's going on."

"Excellent plan, Gray-sama! And in the meantime, perhaps we should sleep _together_, since we are both having the dreams!" Her eyes looked too hopeful for Gray's liking.

"No."

Gray and Juvia left the closet to find the guild full of stone statues (Gajeel in a particularly interesting pose) and the Raijinshuu unaccounted for.


End file.
